2011 Vanier Cup tickets available starting Tuesday

Jun 20, 2011

Organizers hope for record crowd at
Vancouver’s BC Place

OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport officials
hope to attract a record crowd this fall in Vancouver for the 47th
Vanier Cup and the countdown toward that exciting objective is
about to get under way.

The BC Lions Football Club, host of the 2011 Grey Cup, announced
today that when tickets for Canada’s largest sporting event
go on sale to the public Tuesday, June 21st at 1 p.m. Eastern (10
a.m. PT), all buyers will also receive a ticket to the Vanier Cup
game for a limited time.

As well, BC Lions season ticket holders who purchased Grey Cup
tickets and all fans who purchased Grey Cup tickets during an
exclusive 72-hour pre-sale following the 2010 CFL final will be
contacted by the Lions and given the option to secure their Vanier
Cup tickets.
Single-game Vanier Cup tickets will be available for purchase later
in the summer.

As announced last November, the CIS football final will be held
jointly with the Grey Cup at the newly renovated BC Place in 2011
thanks to a partnership between CIS, the Canadian Football League,
MRX and Associates, and the 2011 Grey Cup Festival.

The 47th Vanier Cup will be played on Friday, November 25,
followed by the 99th Grey Cup on Sunday, November 27. It will mark
the first time in history the CIS title match is held in the
province of British Columbia.

As part of the partnership, CIS is also proud to introduce a new
logo for the Vanier Cup championship (to see the new logo: www.vaniercup.com). The development
of a new brand ensures the Vanier Cup and other CIS football
celebrations such as the All-Canadian awards are fully integrated
into the Grey Cup festivities.

“CIS is very pleased to be partnering to host the Vanier
Cup in Vancouver in 2011during the Grey Cup Festival, the biggest
weekend in Canadian football every year,” said CIS past
president Clint Hamilton. “The exposure will help to promote
our brand and broaden the reach of awareness for Canada’s
university football championship. Hosting the Vanier Cup in B.C.
for the first time is also quite exciting and the entire weekend
promises to be memorable for fans of Canadian football.”

“This will be a grand celebration of excellence and
tradition in Canadian football,” said Mark Cohon,
commissioner of the CFL. “And I know our fans will embrace
this opportunity to experience the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup together
in a great city and a magnificent venue. It's going to be
tremendous.”

The Vanier Cup and Grey Cup were organized jointly with great
success in 2007 in Toronto when 26,787 fans - the largest Vanier
Cup crowd since 1995 - turned up at Rogers Centre to watch the
University of Manitoba Bisons and Saint Mary’s University
Huskies battle for CIS supremacy.

Prior to 2007, the Vanier and Grey Cups had been held in the
same city on the same weekend on only one occasion, back in 1973,
also in Toronto.

The Vanier Cup attendance record of 32,847 was set back in 1989,
the first year the game was played at Rogers Centre (then SkyDome).
The 30,000 plateau was again reached in 1991 (30,191), also at
Rogers Centre.

About the 2011 Grey Cup FestivalHosted by the BC Lions Football Club, the 2011 Grey Cup
Festival is a four-day festival that will take place throughout
downtown Vancouver from November 24 through 27, 2011. With events
ranging from free family oriented entertainment to ticketed
concerts, the more than 25 events of the 2011 Grey Cup Festival aim
to welcome Canadians to Vancouver in celebration of Canada’s
largest sporting event.